The Metro PCS Dallas Marathon, which has long drawn runners from across the state, will face competition on race day in 2013.

The San Antonio Marathon, part of the popular Rock ’n‘ Roll series of 32 races, recently moved its date from Nov. 17 to Dec. 8 in direct conflict with the Dallas race.

Competitor Group, which owns and operates the series, proceeded with the date change despite a contract with Dallas expressly forbidding the group from doing so.

The move has stunned Dallas race organizers and disappointed runners who have participated in both events in the same marathon season.

“I was in shock,” said Kevin Snyder, the board chairman for the Dallas Marathon. “It was a big surprise for that to be on the exact same date.”

Dallas Marathon officials were particularly surprised because they have a close working relationship with Competitor Group, which holds the Rock ’n‘ Roll Dallas Half annually in March.

Competitor Group has paid the Dallas Marathon for the right to hold the Rock ’n‘ Roll Half each spring since 2010. The two groups signed a non-compete licensing agreement at the time.

The contract states that Competitor Group and its affiliates “shall refrain from sponsoring, producing, organizing, promoting, managing or conducting any marathons, half marathons, relays or other running events or events with a running component in the state of Texas from Dec. 1 through May 31 each year for the life our agreement,” which goes through 2016, Snyder said.

“It’s pretty all-inclusive and pretty straightforward,” Snyder said.

Scott Dickey, CEO of Competitor Group, said the group knew the Dec. 8 date would conflict with Dallas but moved forward anyway. The team that approved the date change was not aware of the “exclusivity” of the contract, he said.

San Antonio officials wanted to move their race date into December to give participants cooler, less humid conditions and avoid venue conflicts at the Alamodome and convention center. Susan Blackwood, executive director of San Antonio Sports, said her group advocated for the move to December but left the date selection up to Competitor Group.

Competitor Group traded dates for its Las Vegas and San Antonio races, moving Vegas to November. The switch solved San Antonio’s weather and venue issues. The Las Vegas race is held at night, and the move will increase the chance for warmer conditions.

Competitor Group officials sent a proposal this week to Dallas Marathon officials in an effort to resolve the conflict, Dickey said.

Dallas officials said they hope to resolve the matter directly, but “we fully intend to do whatever is necessary to protect the interest of the Dallas Marathon and our beneficiary, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children,” Snyder said.

Formerly the White Rock Marathon, the Dallas race has positioned itself to grow, to make a bigger impact on the local economy and to be one of the state’s premier events.

The event relocated to downtown Dallas last year. It dropped “White Rock” from its official name to be more recognizable nationwide and to more closely associate itself with the City of Dallas. With the city’s support, organizers redesigned the course to showcase landmarks including the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge and the Klyde Warren Park.

Dallas City Councilor Angela Hunt, whose district takes in parts of the marathon course, including the Greenville Avenue area, the M Streets, parts of Oak Lawn, Uptown, the Dallas Arts District and most of downtown, said she was troubled by the change.

“I don’t know how marathon organizers determine their dates, but I would hope San Antonio organizers would reconsider, if we were first to set our marathon on that date,” Hunt said.

Mayor Mike Rawlings said he was unaware of the San Antonio proposal and wanted to learn more before commenting.

Competitor Group saw “very little overlap” with Dallas, Dickey said, when it studied runner impact before making the decision. The maximum combined negative impact on the Dallas Marathon would be 776 runners, according to Competitor Group data that included the marathon, the half marathon and the relay.

Dickey said the races would overlap only this year. In future years, San Antonio would be the first Sunday in December with Dallas the second. It’s a problem this year because the first Sunday in December is Thanksgiving weekend, he said.

The date conflict means Dallas runners won’t run San Antonio, said Elmer “E.W.” Walter, a loyal Dallas Marathon runner, who has run both races the last few years.

“I’ve been told by close to 500 runners that they will stay home and run the Rock,” Walter said.

Only a small core of highly trained runners would consider running back-to-back marathons or half marathons, if the races end up closer than three weeks apart.

But the conflict isn’t limited to runner participation. Many race expo exhibitors and vendors will be strapped and forced to choose which race to support. Luke’s Locker CEO Matt Lucas said that because Luke’s is Dallas-based, it will support only that race rather than both, as it has in the past.

“This is not a good development for anybody in the running/walking community,” he said. “Nobody wins. Who benefits from this? San Antonio certainly doesn’t. Now it’s competing with Dallas. I don’t see it.”

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